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Automatic scanner for determing lean meat distribution in pig carcasses

Objective

The slaughtering sector in the EU28 plays a key role in the meat industry. It embraces over 3,300 pig abattoirs, which process yearly 252 million pig carcasses, and generate a turnover of €73b. In a context of strong market competitiveness, and driven by the demand of meat processors, abattoirs are increasingly interested in new strategies to improve their product segmentation, which allow them to optimize the production value.
The segmentation of fresh pigmeat products is mainly performed based on its lean meat content. Based on this parameter, and according to EU regulations, all carcasses are routinely sorted following the SEUROP scheme. While the SEUROP classification is useful for defining an objective payment criterion for the farmer, it is insufficient to perform a segmentation of the production and to estimate the real market value of the carcass. In particular, the SEUROP classification does not take into account the lean meat content of the primal cuts (ham, loin, belly and shoulder).
Over the past decades, automatic pig carcass grading systems have risen the interest of the sector, due to its potential to improve the accuracy of meat segmentation. However, existing commercial solutions present limitations in terms of (1) limited accuracy and robustness, when dealing with different pig breeds or genetic variations; (2) complex integration in abattoirs; and (3) significant system and integration costs.
We aim at addressing the market demand for a more accurate, reliable and cost-competitive solution to accurately grade and sort carcasses according to the lean meat content in the four primal cuts. The proposed technology was previously developed in a Collaborative EU Research Project, which allowed validating the technology at pilot line level (TRL7). After defining a detailed business plan, which was carried out during the Phase I project, we aim now at obtaining a qualified system (TRL9), and to obtain the SEUROP certification at two key target markets.

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-SMEInst-2014-2015

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Coordinator

G & M STEEL FABRICATORS LIMITED
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 090 442,50
Address
COES ROAD INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
Dundalk
Ireland

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Ireland Eastern and Midland Mid-East
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 557 775,00
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